Drum-controlled repeating perforator



March 11, 1930. B. K. F. EWALD DRUM CONTROLLED REPEATING PERFORATOR Filed July 30, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet M a Q 8 llllil lll l lnll [11. 1111 I 1 gmmemcoz BERHHARD KARL FRITZ EWALD March I1, 1930. B. K. F. EWALD DRUM CONTROLLED REPEATING PERFORATOR Filed July 30, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet g wuemboz BERNHARD KARL FRlTZ EWALD Patented Mar. 11, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BERNHARD KARL FRITZ EWALD, 0F VILLINGEN, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO THE TABU- LATING MACHINE COMPANY, OF ENDICOTT, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY DRUM-CONTROLLED REPEATING PERFORATOR Application filed. July 30, 1927, Serial No. 209,444, and in Germany Gctober 14, 1926.

This invention relates to perforating machines and more particularly to an improved perforating machine in which the making of certain perforations are automatically effected while others are effected under manual control. In other words, the machine will be so set up that while certain data may be perforated under manual control in the card certain other data may be automatically applied to or perforated in all of the cards.

For the purpose of clearly disclosing my invention I have shown it as applied to an electric perforating machine disclosed in the copending application of A. C. Maby, Ser. No. 36,798, filed June 13, 1925.

Business institutions that utilize perforated record cards as a means for eifecting an accounting often perforate the same data on all the record cards, i. e., the date, kind of merchandise, etc. WVhile machines have heretofore been designed for this purpose they have usually been very complicated and very expensive machines, whereas my invention makes it possible to duplicate all information desired while perforating cards in the present simple and inexpensive perforating machines. This means I have succeeded in elfecting in a practical and efiicient form.

An object of my invention is to provide an efficient and economical device whereby the duplication of certain perforated information on record cards is automatically accomplished during the manual operation of the perforation of data pertaining to a particular transaction.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will be obvious from the following particular description of one form of mechanism embodying the invention or from an inspection of the accompanying drawings; and the invention also constitutes certain new and novel features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed. I

In the accompanying drawings I have shown for the purpose of an illustration one form of mechanism embodying the invention in which: 1

Fig. l'is a front elevation of a perforating machine, some of the parts being shown in section and also disclosing my mechanism at tached thereto for controlling the automatic duplication of certain information during the manual operation of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a sectional detail view of one of the punches of the perforating machine and also of the automatic means for duplicating a record.

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the duplicating drum taken substantially on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 1 an embodiment of the invention selected for the purpose of disclosure to illustrate the principles involved and a preferred practical application of the same is shown in conjunction with a motor driven key punch. As disclosed, the key punch comprises a base portion 10 along which a card 11 is adapted to be fed beneath a row of punches 12. The particular means for feeding the card forms no part of the present invention and any convenient device for feeding the card in desired relationship to the punches may be employed, as for ex ample, that shown and described in detail in the copending application of J. T. Schaaff, Serial No, 2,552, filed January 15, 1925. To a complete disclosure of the instant invention, it is sutlicient to point out that the spring driving gear 13 meshes with the rack 14 provided with a vertical lug 1 1 engaging the rear edge of the card. The rack is provided with ratchet teeth 15 cooperating with the escapement pawls 16 and 17. The punches 12 are mounted in an upper guide support 18 and lower guide 19 and are adapted to be depressed into the die member 20, the card 11 being in position between the members 19 and 20. The punches are provided with springs 21 for returning them to normal position after they have been depressed. Above each punch is an interposer bar 22 guided at the left hand end by a member 23 and at its right hand end by a member 24. Each interposer 22 carries a pivoted bracket 25 held by a spring 26 normally in the position shown in Fig. 1 with the lateral stop 27 resting on top of the interposer. A bell crank 28 pivoted at 29 to the upper casing 30 of the machine is adapted to be actuated by depression of the key 31, a spring 32 being provided to return the key to normal position. A spring 33 connected to the member 24 and to the interposer 22 is adapted to normally hold the inerposer in its normal inoperative position toward the right as shown in Fig. 1, also holding the left hand end of the interposer in its upper position against the guide Adjiacent to the ends of the several interposers is an actuating ratchet bar 34 having projections 35. The ratchet bar o4 is connected to the motor 36 in the well known manner and therefore need not be dealt with in detail. lVhen the machine is being used the motor 36 in constant operation and causes the bar 34 to rotate clockwise continuously. lVhen any one of the keys 31 is depressed it moves the corresponding interposer bar 22 from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that of Fig. 2, thus noving the interposer into position underneath a projection 35 on bar 34 so that in its rotation clockwise, the projection 35 will move the interposer bar downwardly. The ear thus depresses the interposer 22 and his in turn depresses the punch 12 to perforate the record card. \Vhen the interposer 22 is depressed its bracket 25 is beyond the contacting of the bell crank 28 so that the nterposer will then be free to return to nor nal position under the influence of spring 33. A cam 37 which is here shown as being integral with the punch guide 18 may also be provided so that when the actuator 34 depresses the interposer 22 the latter will engage the cam and be positively withdrawn from the actuator. The cam, however, is not essential. At the right hand end of the interposers are shown the interlocking elements 38 which prevent more than one interposer movng to operative position at a time. As soon as the bracket 25 escapes from the bell crank 28 permitting the interposer to be returned to normal position as shown in Fig. 1, the interlocking elements 38 are then in position 0 permit. another interposer to be actuated before the key 31 has returned to its upper or normal position. Thus when an operator depresses a key he is able to quickly depress the next key without aiting for the pre- .lOUSlY depressed key to reach its normal position.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the carriage esca pcnient pawls 16 and 17 are adapted to be actuated whenever any one ofthe keys is operated by means of the bail 39. This bail is mounted below the interposers 22 so that whenever any one of them is depressed the bail 39 is rocked, lifting escapement pawl 16 out of engagement with the teeth 15 on rack 14 which escapes to the left under the influence of spring drum 13. Pawl 17 drops into engagement with teeth 15 to prevent the movement of rack 14 more than one tooth space. \Vhen the interposer 22 rises, bell 39 rocks clockwise, permitting pawl 16 to engage the next tooth 15 and releasing pawl 17 from engagement with the rack. In this manner, each time, the punching operation is effected, the rack 14 is operated to feed. the card one step to the left.

Reference will now be had to Fig- 3, in which is disclosed my duplicating device as comprising a drum 4O rigidly mounted on a shaft 41, which shaft is ournalled at its both ends in bosses 42, these bosses being integral with the casing 42. The drum as will be noted has a plurality of longitudinal slots or cuts 43, the number of slots or cuts in the drum corresponding with the number of punching columns on a. record card. As an example, should a record card contain columns, the drum likewise will contain 45 columns, but it is obvious that a record card may have 45 columns and the drum only 20 slots. That is to say, hat duplication of the perforated information may be acquired on the 20 slots by means of the drum due to the fact that these slots would correspond with 20 columns in a certain field on a record card. The remaining columns on the card obviously would have to be manually perforated. Each slot or cut 43 in the drum 4O has a tab 44 which slides therein and cooperates with the lever 45 for automatically duplicating a record, it being understood that; a lever 45 is provided for each punch 12. The levers 45 (Fig. 3) are pivot-ally mounted on a shaft 46 which shaft carries spacing washers 47 for keeping the levers 45 in alignment with the interposer 22. Each longitudinal cut or slot 43 has as many positions for the tabs 44 to be moved as there are punching positions in a vertical column on a record card, such as the Hollerith type. That is to say, that the tabs may be adjusted from zero to 9 and also to the two extra positions 11 and 12.

Rigidly fixed on the right end of the shaft 41 as viewed in Fig. 3 is a gear 47 which is connected through a plurality of transmission gears 48 (Fig. 1), to the spring driving gear 13 which as previously described meshes with the rack 14. Each time a record card is spaced, that is a new column on the card brought under one of the brushes 12, the drum 40 is rotated synchronously with the advancement of the card through the transmission gearing 48 heretofore referred to. Upon the rotation of the drum 40 the longitudinal slots or cuts 43 corresponding with the columns on the record card are brought into cooperation with that column. Assuming that one of the tabs 44 has been moved to the position in the slot as disclosed at 8 in column 13 on the drum, immediately upon the tab coming in contact with its associated lever 45, the lever will be rocked about its pivotal point 46, the drum being rotated in a counter clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2 by the transmission gear 48. In other words, assuming a perforation to have been effected under manual control in column 12 the escapement mechanism then moves the card to position for perforation in column 13. At the same time the drum moves column 13 into cooperative relation with the lever and the projecting tab 44 actuates the lever 45 to cause perforating in column 13; this in turn, of course, effects the usual escapement to move the parts for perforating in column 14, etc. When the tab 44 strikes the upper detent 49 of the lever 45 rocking it about its aXis, the lower detent 50 of the lever will abut the surface 51 of the interposer bar 22, a longitudinal slot 52 being provided in the interposer, so that the lower detent 50 may move. As soon as this lower detent abuts the surface 51 of the interposer bar the interposer is pushed to the left as viewed in Fig. 2. In this position the interposer is over one of the punches 12 and also in a position to be cammed down by the actuating bar 84 which as heretofore stated is continuously rotating during the operation of the machine. Immediately after the tab 44 has passed the upper detent 49 of the lever 45 the lever will be returned to its normal or inoperative position by means of the interposer bar 22 and its associated spring 33. lVhen it is not desired to use the tabs 44 they may be pushed either to the left or right side of the drum as viewed in Fig. 3 out of alignment with their associated levers 45, or if desired they may be taken out of the slots. WVhile I have shown the movement of the tabs to be :nanual it is obvious that any other well known mechanical expedient of adjustment may be employed such as for instance, a key, screw, or any desired arrangement.

It is, of course, to be understood that I do not want to confine myself to a drum construction as it is obvious that any equivalent means for rocking levers 45 may be used. lVhile I have shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a single modification it Will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. I intend to be limited there fore only as indicated by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is 1. In a perforating machine, a plurality of punches, means for feeding records with respect to said punches, manual means for controlling the operation of the punches and means provided with insertible adjustable selecting devices for automatically controlling operation of the punches for producing perforations ina record.

2. In a perforating machine, card feeding means, punches, means for selectively effecting operation of said punches under manual control, a rotatably mounted drum, means for rotating said drum synchronously with the feeding of a card, adjustable members carried by said drum and means adapted to cooperate with said members and said punches whereby said members control the'punches to effect punching in a predetermined position upon a card.

3. In a perforating machine, a punch, an interposer, means for actuating the interposer into relation with said punch for perforating a record, manually controlled means for advancing said interposer between said interposer-actuating means and punch for causing operation of said punch andmeans provided with insertible lugs for automatically moving said interposer between said interposer-actw ating means and punch for causing operation of said punch for producing a perforated record, said last named means being adjustable for predetermining a perforation in a record.

4. In a perforating machine, a plurality of punches in combination with manual controlling means for said punches, automatically operated selecting means for selecting the punches to perforate a predetermined arrangement of perforations, and continually operating means for actuating the selected punches.

5. A machine for punching cards, comprising a series of punches, depressible keys for selecting said punches for operation in certain fields of said cards, and cylindrical rotary punch selecting means provided on its periphery with selector elements and positioned above the punches for selecting said punches for operation in other fields of said cards.

6. A machine for punching cards, compris-' ing a series of punches, keys for selecting said punches for operation, and rotary punch selecting means provided on its periphery with selector elements operative alternatively with said keys.

7. A machine for punching cards, comprising a series of punches, keys for selecting said punches for operation and rotary punch selecting means provided on its periphery with removable selector elements automatically operative to select said punches for operation alternatively with said keys.

8. A machine for punching cards, comprising a series of punches, keys for manually selecting certain of said punches for operation, in selected fields of said cards and rotary punch selecting means carried on a fixed axis and provided on its periphery with insertible, adjustable, selector lugs automatically operative to select certain of said punches for operation in other selected fields of said cards.

9. A machine for punching a record sheet, comprising a series of punches, keys for selecting certain of said punches for operation, means for feeding said record sheet a single step after each punching operation, and a rotary punch selecting means provided on its periphery with adjustable selector lugs automatically operative after completion of a selected number of such feeding steps to select certain of said punches for operation.

10. A punching machine comprising a series of manually Operative keys, punches selected for operation by said keys, and adjustable rotatable automatic punch selecting 10 means operative alternately with said keys.

11. A punching machine comprising a series of punches, corresponding interposer elements, a movable pattern device, means automatically operated by said device for engag- 15 ing certain of said elements to advance them to punch operating position, means for there after operating said punches and means for restoring said element engaging means to initial position during the perforating opera- 8 tion of the punches.

12. In a perforating machine, card feeding means, punches, means for manually selecting said punches for operation, automatic punch selecting means geared to said card 25 feeding means and operative alternatively with said manual selecting means, and means for operating said selected punches.

13. In a perforating machine for record cards, in combination, punches, members for selecting punches for operation, manual means for controlling said members to select desired punches for operation, and rotatable means independent of the manual means provided on its periphery With selector elements to control said members for selecting punches for operation in accordance with the arrangement of said selector elements.

In testimony whereof I hereto aflix my signature.

BERNHARD KARL FRITZ EWALD. 

